Clay-cutter.



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No.869,098. y APATNTED OCT. 22. 1907. T. MAJOR.

CLAY GUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED 141111.25. 1907.

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@v1/[museo 3mm/woz TI'IOMAS MAJOR, OF FRANKFORT, INDIANA.

CLAY-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1907'.

Application filed March 25. 1907- Serial No. 364.220.

To all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS MAJOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Frankfort, in the county of Clinton and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clay-Cutters, of which tho following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a neat and efficient mechanism for cutting a clay column into successive bricks by means of a reciprocating knife capable of working upon the clay column in alternately opposite directions, whereby the cutter will be self-cleaning. i

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention, Figure 1 being a plan of an embodiment of my invention, the discharge snout of a mill being' shown immediately adjacent the receiving end of the structure; Fig. 2 an elevation of the parts shown in Fig. l; Fig. 3 a transverse section in the plane of the cutter; Fig. 4 a similar detail, on a larger scale, of a modification; Fig. 5 a section longitudinallyv of the clay column with the cutter in operating position.

In the drawings l() indicates a suitable supporting frame provided at its ends with a pair of pulleys 11 and 12 over which passes an endless belt 13 of any usual and well known form.

Arranged in front of wheel 12 is the usual oiling box 14 over the rollers of which -the clay column 15 will pass in the usual manner,

Arranged in position to receive the clay`column after it has passed the oiler box, is a cutting table 16 adapted to be moved in the line of movement of the clay column. Table 16 may be supported in any suitable manner, as for instance by means of a pair of swinging legs 17, and said table is normally held and drawn to the position nearest the oiling box 14 by means of a spring 18. Table 16 carries a transversely movable cutter holder 20 mounted in suitable ways on the table and transversely reciprocable by means of a pitman 21 and a crank 22 carried by a shaft provided at one end with a clutch member 23.

Arranged in alinement with the shaft which carriss the clutch member 23 is a shaft 24 constantly driven from any suitable source and saidl shaft is provided with a shiftabl e clutch member 25 adapted to intermittently engage the clutch member 23. Any suitable timing means may be used for intermittently connecting clutch member 25 with the clutch member 23 and in the drawings I have shown for this purpose a'lever 2 6 which, at one end, engages the clutch 25, while at the other end it is engaged by one arm of a lever 27. Lever 27 is connected to a'bar 28 arranged alongside frame 10 and connected at its rear end to a lever 29 which, at its lower end, is adapted to be successively engaged by a series of pins 30 carried by a wheel 31 attached to the shaft 11 of wheel 11, said pins 30 being so spaced as to cause a reciprocation of bar 28 for each advancement of on frame 10, an adjustable cam 35 adapted to engage a cam 36 on bar 28 so that the forward advancement of said bar will serve to automatically withdraw its shoulder 28/ from engagement with the shoulder 17, and thus permit spring 18 te draw the table 16 backbcneath the forwardly moving claycolumn. Journaled in the frame 2O is a rock shaft 40 which is provided with a cutter 4lv which is preferably in the form of a thin but comparatively wide blade, the lower end of which is supported in a slot 42 formed in frame 20.

To obtain a shearing cut with the cutter it should be inclined from the vertical and must be inclined alternately in opposite directions to correspond with the direction of motion of the frame 20. For this purpose I provideshaftl 40 with an arm 43 carrying a pin 44 which, at the end of the reciprocation of the frame 20, comes into engagement with a stop 45 which serves to throw the knife to its new position, or lat least to carry said knife past the vertical. In order to assist in this movement, and to reduce the necessary transverse movement of the frame 20, I also provide shaft 40 with a crank 46 to the wrist pin of which I secure one end of the spring 47, the opposite end being attached to the frame 20, and the arrangement being such that, as the knife 41 reaches the vertical, spring 47 will be carried across the axis of shaft 40 and then act upon crank 46 to carry the knife to the end of its throw.

In operation, the clay column 15 is projected from the snout 50 of the mill onto the belt 13 in the usual well known manner, and, as said column passes onto the table 16, pins 30 will reciprocate lever 29 and thus intermittently drive table 16 forward at the same speed as the clay column and will connect clutch 25 with clutch 23, whereupon frame 20 will be driven across the clay column so as to carry the knife 41 therethrough. As soon as the knife has been carried through the clay column the nger 44 of arm 43 will be brought into engagement with the adjacent stop 45 so as to swing knife 41 to or across the vertical whereupon spring 47 will act to continue the movement so as to bring the lower end of the knife 41 into engagement with the end of the slot 42. As soon as the cutting movement of the frame 2O has been completed shoulder 28/ of arm 28 will have been withdrawn from shoulder 17 of leg 17 by the coaction of cams 36 and 35, whereupon spring 51 will draw said arm backward so as to withdraw clutch 25 from clutch 23 and so as to permit spring 18 to draw table 16 back to nitial position. Thereupon a succeeding pin 30 cornes into engagement with lever 29 and the operation is repeated in the opposite direction. By making the cutter comparatively Wide any iibers which may be carried bythe critter' through the clay column will not be of suilicient length to entirelyT overlap the cutter and therefore7 on reverse action, the opposite edge of the cutter coming in play, the clay column will automatically clean the clinging fibers from the then non-operating edge of the cutter. No means need be provided, therefore, to clean the cutter'.

I claim as my inventionz- 4 1. In a clay critter', the combination, with a support for rhe clay column, ot a cuttercarrier, means for' reciprocating said carrier transversely or' the line oi' movement o1 rho clay column, a liniie pivotally supported on said cariiei' on an axis substantially parallel with the line of movement of the clay column and independent ot' the carr-iera'ecipr'ocating means, and means for limiting the swing or said cutter' whereby the angle oi. inclination of the cutter relative to the clay column may be alternately shifted for alternate movements of the critter' carrier.

L. In a clay critter', the combination, with a support for the clay column. of a critter' carrier', means for reciprocatme' said carrier' transversely oi the line ot' movement of the clay columna knife pivotally supported on said carrier' on an axis substantially parallel with the line of movement oi the clay column and independent of the carrier'- recipr'ocatirrg means, means for limiting the swing of said cutter' whereby the angle ot` inclination of the cutter' relarive to the clay column may be alternately shifted for alternate movements ot the crrtter' carrier, and a spring for drivinl said critter' to either position from an intermediate position.

3. In a clay critter', the combination, with a support for the clay column, of a cutter' table adapted to receive the clay column, means operated by the column support for moving the cutter' table intermittently in the direction 0f movement of the clay column, a reciprocating cutter carrier' mounted on said table, a cutter pivotally supported in said carrier independent of the reciprocating means, means for' limiting; the swingl of said cutter whereby its angle of inclination relative to the clay column may be alternately changed, and means ior driving said cutter-carrier' inter'- mittently alternately in opposite directions transversely of the line of movement of the clay column.

4. In a clay critter', the combination, with a support for the clay column, of a cutteucarrier, a comparatively wide, thin, two-edged cutter carried by said carrier with its width in the plane of movement or the carrier, and means for reciprocating said cutter-carrier transversely of the clay column to carry said cutter entirely through the column tirst from one side and then the other, whereby the critter' will cut alternately on opposite sides, for the pur pose set forth.

5. In a clay cutter, the combination, with a support for' the clay colurnu, ot a cutter carrier', means for reciprocating said cutter' carrier' transversely of the clay column, and a wide, thin cutter' pivot-ally mounted in said carrier on an axis parallel with the clay column with the width of the cutter' in the plane of movement ot' the carrier, and means for supporting said cutter in positions at opposite inclinations to the clay colrrmn.

In witness whereof, I, have hereunto set my hand and seal at Indianapolis, Indiana, this twentyfrrst day of March, A. I). one thousand nine hundred and seven.

THOMAS MAJOR. [1., s.]

Witnesses:

Crrusrm: BRADFORD, 'lrrorrAs W. MCMEANS. 

